Class Period 1
Get students thinking and talking about things their families share when it comes to beliefs, customs, and traditions. Ask:
What are some special things that your family does year after year to celebrate religious holidays, birthdays, or public holidays? (Give example of public holiday.)
Are there special foods your family eats to celebrate? Special songs you sing? Special clothes you wear? Special things (artifacts) you use? Explain that these are part of one’s family traditions.
Many traditions grow out of celebrations that occur year after year. List some family celebrations. Be sure to guide the students to include all types of celebrations, not only religious holidays.
Input: Teacher will provide specific examples that show universals in celebrations.
Model: Teacher will describe a family tradition and model how to put the elements of that tradition into a category on a Cultural Universals Chart.
Procedures:
Class Period 2
Show Cultural Universals Chart and introduce some “universals” that are part of how people around the world celebrate. They are:
• Music
• Special Foods
• Artifacts
• Clothes
• Lights
If appropriate, ask the students how they celebrate their birthday. Have them fill in the Birthday Graphic Organizer. If students do not celebrate birthdays, go to the next step (of reading about birthday celebrations) and then have them fill in the Graphic Organizer.
Read a book about birthday celebrations around the world. Discuss the common things people around the world do/use to celebrate birthdays (music, clothes, food, and artifacts).
Record student responses on the Chart of Cultural Universals. (Keep the chart displayed after the lesson so that students may refer to it. )
Class Period 3
Holidays
• Compare and contrast New Year’s Day celebrations in different countries using a new Chart of Cultural Universals.
• Example: New Year’s Day (January 1) and Lunar New Year (such as Tet in Vietnam).
Read books about New Year’s Day as it is celebrated on January 1 in various countries. Ask students why they think people all over the world celebrate the New Year. What do people hope for in the New Year?
Play a New Years song, such as Auld Lang Syne, for the class. (If Internet access is available, the class can view/hear this YouTube version of the song with lyrics and English translation at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPnhaGWBnys).
Ask: What is the big idea of the song? Why do they think that?
Show students such items as New Year hats and noise-makers (artifacts).
Have students fill out the Chart of Cultural Universals with a partner. Allow students refer to the books about New Year’s Day (January 1).